Way-too-early NASCAR championship odds: Top 5 favorites revealed
Three weeks after the conclusion of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, the way-too-early odds have been revealed for the 2024 championship.
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season wrapped up at Phoenix Raceway just over three weeks ago, with Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney pulling off the upset to win his first championship — even without winning the Championship 4 race itself.
But after winning the 2023 championship with the sixth highest point total over the course of the entire 36-race season, Blaney is not the favorite to win next year’s title.
DraftKings Sportsbook, which is offering fans an instant $150 just for placing a single $5 bet, lists Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson as +550 co-favorites to win the 2024 championship.
Here are the top five favorites to win the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship.
- William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports: +550
- Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports: +550
- Ryan Blaney, Team Penske: +650
- Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing: +750
- Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing: +850
Both Byron and Larson made it to the Championship 4 in 2023, with Larson finishing one spot ahead of Byron, who led all drivers with six wins, in the standings.
After finishing ahead of them to win the title at Phoenix, Blaney is listed just behind them at +650 to go back-to-back. No driver has won two championships in a row since Jimmie Johnson won five in a row from 2006 to 2010.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin is the all-time winningest non-champion in Cup Series history. Is 2024 finally his year? As for teammate Christopher Bell, he is set to enter the 2024 season as the only driver who made it to the Championship 4 in both 2022 and 2023.
Larson and Blaney are the only former NASCAR Cup Series champions listed in the top five.
Last season’s preseason favorite, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, and last season’s regular season champion, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr., are listed just outside the top five at +900. Elliott missed the 2023 playoffs and Truex was eliminated in the round of 8. Both are former champions.
Two-time champions Kyle Busch of Richard Childress Racing and Joey Logano of Team Penske are listed at +1400 along with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick. RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski, the only other active former champion, is listed at +1800 along with teammate Chris Buescher, just behind Trackhouse Racing Team’s Ross Chastain, the winner of the season finale, at +1600.
2024 NASCAR Cup Series action is scheduled to begin on Sunday, February 4 with the preseason Busch Light Clash exhibition race at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with the official 36-race schedule set to get underway on Sunday, February 18 with the 66th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and don’t miss any of the action!
